LawFuel.com – 22 August, 2009 – New York – Debevoise & Plimpton LLP has been named among the 2009 Working Mother and Flex-Time Lawyers Best Law Firms for Women, which recognizes law firms for their attention to work-life and women’s issues and the increased use of part-time and other family-friendly policies. Debevoise has been among the 50 Best Law Firms for Women for each of the three years of the survey, 2007 – 2009.
Carol Evans, President, Working Mother Media, said, “We salute the 2009 Best Law Firms for recognizing that making the legal profession work for women is good business for everyone.”
Debevoise partner Mary Beth Hogan, a member of the firm’s Management Committee and co-chair of the Women’s Resource Group, said, “We are honored to again be among the 50 Best Law Firms for Women and thank Working Mother and Flex-Time Lawyers for continuing to advance issues of critical importance to women in the legal profession.”
Since beginning its part-time program more than 40 years ago, Debevoise has been at the forefront of programs that support lawyers in balancing careers with families. Debevoise lawyers do not need to ask permission to work part-time for parenting reasons and have flexibility regarding the days and hours they work. The firm also supports a range of mentoring and community activities including the Debevoise Women’s Resource Group, which sponsors programs focused on the professional interests of women at the firm. In 2008, 56 counsel and associates worked part-time at the firm, as did six women partners. In September 2008, Yale Law Women selected Debevoise as a Top Ten Family Friendly Firm, and in 2009, Multicultural Law magazine ranked the firm 1st in the Top 100 Law Firms for Women category.
Deborah Epstein Henry, Founder and President, Flex-Time Lawyers, said, “We are proud of our 2009 Best Law Firms for Women because they understand that when the market improves, the war for talent will return and they will be better positioned to recruit and retain the best and brightest. Big salaries and bonuses will no longer be the pivotal means for firms to draw the best talent, and culture and environment will become more important ways for firms to distinguish themselves.”
The 2009 Best Law Firms for Women application was developed in a partnership between Working Mother and Flex-Time Lawyers. Firms with at least 50 lawyers were eligible to apply and the application included detailed questions about issues that are important to the retention and promotion of female lawyers. The 50 winning firms were selected based on their workforce profile, family-friendly benefits and policies, flexibility, leadership, compensation, advancement and retention of women, among other criteria utilizing 2008 data.
Profiles of the 2009 firms are featured in the August/September issue of Working Mother, and at workingmother.com and flextimelawyers.com.
Debevoise & Plimpton LLP is a leading international law firm, representing a wide range of clients around the world. Founded in 1931, the firm has offices in New York, Washington, D.C., London, Paris, Frankfurt, Moscow, Hong Kong and Shanghai. The firm has approximately 750 lawyers, including more than 150 lawyers in Europe. For more information, please visit our website at www.debevoise.com.
